Best of a bad lot

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The salary cap has gone down to $64.3 million for next season, which should curtail spending on the NHL free agent market on Friday; teams simply do not have as much room to pay players as they have in the past. Given the state of this year’s class, that’s probably a good thing, because otherwise there would be some truly silly contracts given out.

Even though the 2013 free agent class is generally underwhelming, there is talent available, and there are good deals to be had. Here are Sporting News’ suggestions for where the top players should find new (or old) homes.

The former 52-goal scorer is only 33, and after being bought out by the Tampa Bay Lightning, he is a fine replacement in Boston for Nathan Horton, who is leaving as a free agent. With David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron on the Bruins, it would mean a move to wing for Lecavalier, but that’s really only important for faceoffs. Once the play gets going, he would be able to play effectively in the cycle game.

UPDATE: Lecavalier didn't even make it to Friday, agreeing on a five-year, $22.5 million contract with the Flyers on Tuesday. That's the same Philadelphia Flyers team that bought out Danny Briere and Ilya Bryzgalov to get under the salary cap, and has exactly one (1) NHL goaltender under contract for next season: Steve Mason, he of the career .905 save percentage. Nobody ever said free agent season was smart. In fact, quite the opposite.

Ribeiro enjoyed the greatest success of his career in Dallas, and now that the Stars’ ownership situation is settled, they have the ability to bring him back to be the second-line center that they need.

Buffalo got burned by big spending on free agents two years ago, but this is a different case—a chance to add a reliable goal scorer as opposed to, say, Ville Leino. The Sabres have the cap room to make a significant addition, as well as the financial wherewithal. It would take an overpayment, but with young, cheap talent on the way after two strong drafts, this would be the right way for Buffalo to use Terry Pegula’s checkbook to its advantage—and take away from a division rival in the process.

Would staying with the Penguins mean taking less money than going elsewhere? Yes, but it also represents Dupuis’ best chance at winning another Stanley Cup, while also keeping him in the place and system where he has recorded the only two 20-goal seasons of his career—the last two. Dupuis represents a better re-signing for Pittsburgh than any of their other unrestricted free agents.

There’s a fairly longstanding trend of players not finding success after leaving the Devils as free agents, and as tempting as it might be for Clarkson to go play for his hometown team in Toronto, it makes sense for him to stay where he has grown from a penalty minute king to a top-six winger who hasn’t lost that grit.

For most of last season, Rene Bourque played alongside Tomas Plekanec and Brian Gionta on Montreal’s second line, and while Bourque is signed through 2016, he’s a better fit on the third line, while Clowe has the size necessary to provide a complement along with the skills to keep up. Clowe was very solid down the stretch for the Rangers, but their cap situation after declining to buy out Brad Richards makes staying in New York nearly impossible.

After a wrist injury limited Weiss to 17 games this past season, he could be a bargain, and that would be a good fit for an Anaheim team that has committed big-money deals to Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, but needs a second-line center.

It may not be feasible with New York’s cap structure, but picture Jagr playing in Alain Vigneault’s zone-matching system. He would only see Henrik Lundqvist at practice… and he might just provide the necessary boost to that legendarily stinky power play.

A reunion with Darryl Sutter would be perfect for Iginla, who would fit quite nicely alongside Mike Richards and Jeff Carter in the spot that Dustin Penner figures to be vacating this summer. Making the financial side of things work be a challenge, but it could also be a case where Iginla takes slightly less money to be part of a comfortable system where he has a great chance to finally get his name on the Cup.

One of the younger free agents on the market, at 27, and coming off his first NHL season, Brunner should be at least moderately affordable, and adds the kind of dynamic offensive presence that the Predators need to complement their defense-first mentality and compete for one of the up-for-grabs playoff spots in “Conference III” with the Avalanche, Jets, Stars, and Wild.

If there was one thing that you learned from the stories out of Philadelphia when Briere was bought out, it was just how classy of an individual he is. While that angle may have been overplayed, there is something valid about the idea of bringing a veteran presence to Long Island who can still contribute on the ice, especially after Mark Streit was traded to Philadelphia—the move that basically forced Briere out. Adding Briere as the No. 2 center behind John Tavares would allow Frans Nielsen to play a more natural role as a defensive center. He can also play wing.

No incumbent starter? Check. Better defense than the mess Bryzgalov played behind in Philadelphia, but still capable of scoring enough to cover for him? Check. Less media attention? Check. Breathing human being capable of serving as backup goaltender? Check. Make it a two-year deal so that if things don’t work out by the time the Islanders are ready to move to Brooklyn, and everyone can move on and be happy. (Also, those last two checks rule out Winnipeg and Calgary as good fits.)

Colorado elected to use the No. 1 draft pick on center Nathan MacKinnon instead of selecting Seth Jones to rebuild a lackluster defense, but that defense still needs help, and Ference would be a good fit as a stabilizing force.

Phoenix needs another center and Filppula needs a fresh start after things never really worked out for him in Detroit. There’s a job to be had for a 29-year-old who shouldn’t require too hefty a contract.

One of the biggest reasons that the Hurricanes failed to meet expectations last season was shoddy defensive work, something that could be remedied with a solid stay-at-home blueliner in Scuderi. Staying in Los Angeles might be a better fit—and not be possible financially.

“Decent-sized winger with an antagonizing side who can pop in more goals than you think” is pretty much the description for a player on any St. Louis line. It’s almost surprising Raymond doesn’t already play there.

No reason to leave a good situation after several years of bouncing around, even if it does mean remaining a backup to Corey Crawford. Emery played enough this season to get a Vezina Trophy vote (crazy as that was), and he should still see 30-35 games a year while continuing to have a good shot at the Cup.

There will be a lot of buzz around Tim Thomas because he’s a big name, but the Boston-tied goalie that the Flyers should seek is the 27-year-old from Kazakhstan who has been serving as Tuukka Rask’s capable backup. Give him a chance to battle Steve Mason for the starter’s job, don’t strain too much more against the cap, and make a safer play than bringing in a 39-year-old who just took a season off.